The bestRalph Macchiomovies and TV shows include his portrayal as one of the most iconic characters in movie history, but his career is so much more than just Daniel LaRusso. Macchio got his start at 19, playing younger high school characters in the TV showEight Is Enoughand the S.E. Hinton young adult adaptation,The Outsiders. However, all this led to his most defining role, one that almost pigeonholed him for most of his career due to its overwhelming popularity.
In 1984, Ralph Macchio signed on to appear in thecoming-of-age young adult filmThe Karate Kid,and it made him a major star. Since that time, his most notable roles have all been in that franchise, including two sequels in which he starred, the Netflix streaming seriesCobra Kai, and a 2025 release featuring Jackie Chan -Karate Kid: Legends. However, whilemost fans know Macchio primarily as Daniel LaRusso, he has also had several other notable roles, including one of the most beloved cult films of the 1990s,My Cousin Vinny.
In the same year that Ralph Macchio starred inThe Karate Kid, he also appeared in the black comedyTeachers, which was released four months later. Directed by Arthur Hiller (Love Story),Teacherstells the story of a school facing a damaging lawsuit from a former student who claims they graduated despite being illiterate. The school then tries to force a popular teacher to quit. Nick Nolte plays the teacher, whileRalph Macchio plays a student named Eddie whom he is mentoring.
The film received mixed to positive reviews, with some praising the satire but criticizing the “jarring tonal shifts.” Most of the acclaim went to the cast playing the teachers, but some critics said the film didn’t go far enough in its critique of the problems in secondary education. At 23, Macchio played the only major student in the movie, which made him the focus of a story about students struggling to get an education in a system that is barely focused on that goal.
Ralph Macchio only appeared intwo episodes of the television comedyPsych, but he was so memorable that he ended up returning for the 2017 release ofPsych: The Movie. When Shawn Spencer’s (James Roday) dad, Henry (Corbin Bernsen), and Police Chief Karen Vick (Kirsten Nelson) believe Shawn and Gus (Dule Hill) need better training, they send them on a three-week crash course at the police academy.Macchio plays trainer Nick Conforth, a man who wasn’t suited for active police duty himself.
Macchio was hilarious as Lassie’s (Timothy Omundson) former rival, who ended up failing as a police officer and now has to settle for training others. He later returned in the final season as a different character in an absurdist remake episode. His reappearance inPsych: The Movieas Officer Conforth was a welcome surprise for fans because of the popularity of the role and performance.
Before he returned to the mainstream as Daniel LaRusso inCobra Kai, Ralph Macchio took on a role in a different TV series. This wasThe Deuce, which details the golden age of pornography and starred James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal in the lead roles. Ralph Macchio had a recurring role as Officer Haddix in 17 episodes of the series, which ran for three seasons and a total of 25 episodes.Officer Haddix was a jaded vice cop in Times Squareduring an era when the police force was corrupt.
This was a different look for Macchio, as he played a mostly corrupt cop with a “shoot first, ask questions later” attitude.
The series focuses mainly on the legitimization of the sex industry in the 1970s. At the same time, Macchio was part of the storyline dealing with how the police responded to the changes concerning pornography and prostitution at the time. However, this was a different look for Macchio, as he played a mostly corrupt cop with a “shoot first, ask questions later” attitude. The series received mostly positive reviews, but only picked up one Golden Globe nomination (for Gyllenhaal).
One of Ralph Macchio’s earlier TV roles was in 2008, when he landed a recurring part on the sitcomUgly Betty. The sitcom stars America Ferrera as Betty Suarez, a writer working for a fashion magazine who often feels she doesn’t fit in. The show also focuses on Betty’s home life with dad Ignacio (Tony Plata) and sister Hilda (Ana).That is where Ralph Macchio fits in, as he plays Archie Rodriguez, a local city council member who is dating Betty’s sister Hilda.
Macchio appeared in the third and fourth seasons of the show for a total of 11 episodes. He was involved in several moments with Hilda, but things fell apart when she cheated on him with her ex-boyfriend, Bobby Talerico (Adam Rodriguez), and ended up pregnant. This ended their relationship, and she eventually married Bobby before the series concluded. The series ended after its fourth season, but it won three Primetime Emmy and two Golden Globe Awards during its run.
In 2012, Sacha Gervasi directed a biopic about Alfred Hitchcock, with Anthony Hopkins starring as the iconic director and Helen Mirren as his wife, Alma Reville. The film had an impressive cast, with Scarlett Johansson starring as Janet Leigh, Jessica Biel as Vera Miles, and Michael Wincott as Ed Gein. While his character isn’t as well-known to mainstream audiences,Ralph Macchio starred as Joseph Stefano, the screenwriterwho adapted Robert Bloch’s novelPsycho.
This was an important role, since the movie mostly followed Hitchcock’s life after the release ofNorth by Northwestand during the making of the horror classicPsycho. Reviews were mixed to positive, with a 60% rating on Rotten Tomatoes but it did receive an Oscar nomination for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. However, the actor who received the most attention was Helen Mirren, who received a Golden Globe nomination and ultimately became a finalist for several critics' awards.
5Crossroads (1986)
Eugene Martone
One of the least talked-about Ralph Macchio roles was in the 1986 movieCrossroads. Released two years afterThe Karate Kid, Macchio starred as 17-year-old Eugene Martone, a young man with a massive interest in blues music who studies at Juilliard.He begins studying the mythical story of Robert Johnsonand about how he sold his soul to the Devil at the crossroads for his musical success. He delves deep into researching Johnson and his mysterious “missing song,” and this leads to his own crossroads encounter.
This happens when he helps one of Johnson’s old friends, a man named Willie, escape from prison in exchange for information about the missing song. This is when Eugene learns that the legends were true and the devil does exist at the crossroads. The story is a retelling of the Robert Johnson tale, and anyone who has heard “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” is likely familiar with how the film ends. Directed by Walter Hill (48 Hrs),Crossroadshas an 82% “fresh” Rotten Tomatoes score.
While not his first film role,The Outsiderswas Ralph Macchio’s breakout movie. Of course, this was true for the entire cast ofFrancis Ford Coppola’sadaptation of the S.E. Hinton novel. The 1983 film starred young talent including C. Thomas Howell, Patrick Swayze, Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Diane Lane, Ralph Macchio, and Rob Lowe in his first-ever movie role. Taking place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the story follows two youth gangs - the wealthy Socs and the poor greasers.
The main characters were Dally (Swayze), Ponyboy (Howell), and Soda Curtis (Lowe), three brothers who had to take care of themselves after their parents' deaths. Macchio stars as Johnny Cade, Ponyboy’s best friend, who was the catalyst for the major rumble in the film, and also as the heart and soul of the story when he sacrifices himself for his friends. The film received mostly positive reviews, with praise going towards the cast and the script’s ability to make them sound like real kids.
The movie that made Ralph Macchio a star is the same role that typecast him and stunted his career for decades. In 1984, Macchio took on the part of Daniel LaRusso inThe Karate Kid. The movie follows a single mother who moves to a new town with her teenage son, and he finds that making friends is not easy in his new town. When the local bullies, all members of a karate dojo, target him,Daniel meets a karate sensei named Mr. Miyagi and begins trainingto defend himself, eventually coming into his own.
To understand what this meant to his career, Macchio got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame - right next to Pat Morita’s.
The film was a massive success and remains one of the best martial arts dramas of all time, as well as a defining hit of the 1980s. It made $130 million on an $8 million budget and spawned a franchise that has included sequels, spinoffs, and TV shows. Pat Morita even picked up an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Macchio returned for the first two sequels but didn’t return for the fourth movie. To understand what this meant to his career, Macchio got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame - right next to Pat Morita’s.
While everyone associates Ralph Macchio withThe Karate Kidfranchise, there is another movie that is even better and ranks as one of the best cult classics of the 1990s. In 1992, Macchio starred inMy Cousin Vinny.In this movie, he played a college student namedBill Gambini who ends up being arrested for a murder he never committed.He and his best friend have to stand trial in a small town in front of a no-nonsense judge, played by Fred Gwynne, who seems ready to throw them both in jail without a trial.
However, while Macchio was great in this role, it was Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei who stole the show as Vinny Gambini, Bill’s cousin, who arrives to represent him, and Vinny’s fiancée, Mona Lisa Vito. Vinny, however, has no trial experience and barely passed the bar, so this isn’t an easy case to win. The biggest shock of all came at the Academy Awards that year when Tomei won Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the movie, which has an 85% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In 2018, Ralph Macchio returned to the role that made him famous, starring as Daniel LaRusso in the streaming seriesCobra Kai. For years,The Karate Kidhad developed an interesting side story, with many people feeling Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) got a raw deal in the movie, especially since the real villain was Martin Kove’s John Kreese. This series allowed Johnny to have his day in the sun, and interestingly, it almost portrayed Daniel as the antagonist.
The series primarily focuses on the next generation of karate students, with Daniel and Johnny differing on how they should be trained. However, when villains return (John Kreese and Terry Silver), Johnny and Daniel have to put their lifelong feud aside and work together to help the kids, whose future is in their hands. The series lasted for six seasons and even received Primetime Emmy Award nominations. While Johnny was the hero here,Ralph Macchioslid back into the role of Daniel with ease.
